Alliance Boots partial exit raises £4.3bn cash and shares

John Bakie
19 June 2012

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KKR and AXA Private Equity have made a partial exit from Alliance Boots following a cash and shares offer from US pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens.

The deal sees Walgreens take a 45% stake in Alliance Boots for around £4.3bn, and the company will have the option to buy the remaining Boots shares by 2015.

Walgreens paid around $4bn in cash and 83 million Walgreens shares. It has also had to up its dividend payment to satisfy shareholders.

Previous funding
KKR and AXA Private Equity completed the buyout of Alliance Boots in June 2007, in what remains the largest private equity-backed buyout in Europe. The deal valued the UK retailer at £11.1bn, with around £7.45bn of senior debt and £750m of mezzanine.

Company
Alliance Boots was formed on 31 July 2006 through the merger of Alliance UniChem Plc and Boots Group Plc. The firm had been based in London but its headquarters were relocated to Zug, Switzerland following the June 2007 buyout.

The Alliance UniChem Group was formed in 1997 when UniChem merged with Alliance Santé. On completion of the merger, UniChem was renamed Alliance UniChem Plc. The UniChem group was formed by a group of retail pharmacists in London in 1938, its initial business being the wholesaling of pharmaceutical products to independent pharmacists.

The Boots family began trading in 1849, selling herbal remedies from a small store in Goose Gate, Nottingham. By the 1930s, there were more than 1,000 Boots stores selling a wide range of products. The first overseas store opened in New Zealand in 1936.

In the year ending 31 March 2012, Alliance Boots reported revenues of £23bn and an EBITDA of £1.44bn. It employs 116,000 people worldwide.